USF Sarasota-Manatee Chancellor Guilford to step down

The man who helped secure local control of the university is retiring.

By KATY BERGEN

Cameras, lights and a tall chair crowded Arthur Guilford's office, with abstract art and a print of the Leaning Tower of Pisa on the walls.

The regional chancellor of the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee sat at a table, a "10-Year Development Poster" visible over his shoulder from an easel in the corner, and talked about retirement. Soon, he'd film a video message for students and the community about why he will leave a university that became locally controlled and given a new identity under his watch.

On Monday, Guilford, 68, announced to faculty and staff that he will step down at the end of the July, though he does not plan to retire until January 2015. He says he is leaving the position earlier so a successor can begin before the fall term, and because hiring for education administrators typically occurs in the summer.

He plans to stick around to help with special projects — such as developing a master's degree in speech language pathology — for the remainder of his tenure.

"It's good to have fresh leaders with good ideas coming in," said Guilford, who began at USF Sarasota-Manatee in 2007. "And I have to take my personal life into account."

For Guilford, that means keeping a promise to his wife to retire by 70, to spend more time with two adult children and six grandchildren and to travel to a second home in the North Carolina mountains.

He's adamant, however, that his primary home remain in Sarasota, and he says he will continue to be involved with the community.

"I hope to continue to be involved," Guilford said. "I hope they'll still think I have some sense."

Lasting mark on USF

Guilford has spent the past seven years of a 38-year career within the University of South Florida system at the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus, on U.S. 41 near the border of Sarasota and Manatee counties.

The school had long offered upper-division coursework and master's degrees for an older student population, made up largely of transfer, commuter and working students whose average age was 29.

But under Guilford's watch, the school became separately accredited from the main USF Tampa campus in 2011. The university underwent considerable expansion, with new degree tracks, the school's first freshmen class and innovative community partnerships, such as a science initiative with Mote Marine Laboratory.

The challenge of transition to a four-year university, which for almost a decade had been an open goal of USF Sarasota-Manatee school officials, appealed to Guilford.

A Florida native, he sailed through school, graduating from high school at 16 and earning his doctorate at 23 from the University of Michigan. But cold winters didn't take for Guilford and his wife and eventually they decided that remaining on the East Coast would keep them connected to family.

He spent the majority of his career at USF's main campus in Tampa, working in the communication sciences and disorders department and participating in a culture of change and expansion that led to the school's growth as a signature Florida university.

He made a lasting impression on education administrators there, particularly USF President Judy Genshaft, who named him head of a search committee for USF Sarasota-Manatee's president in 2006.

The decision led to his job here, as staff and faculty rejected other candidates and lobbied for Guilford to apply.

"The University of South Florida System is deeply appreciative of Arthur Guilford's leadership at USF Sarasota-Manatee," Genshaft said in a statement Tuesday. "He has been a valued part of USF for almost four decades and a highly respected leader of a great team for the past seven years."

Important community resource

At USF Sarasota-Manatee, Guilford immediately started working on a separate accreditation for the school, which could then control academics and hiring decisions.

The decision opened the door for major initiatives that have cemented USF Sarasota-Manatee as an important resource in the community, both in terms of serving students and serving local agencies and business.

Since 2011, those initiatives have rapidly rolled out, changing the student demographics and the classes offered to students. A learning initiative with Mote Marine Laboratory allows students to study with world-renowned scientists. Next year, the curriculum will include a new biology major.

The education school's PAINT initiative has received acclaim for developing arts-integrated curriculum for teachers.

This fall, the first freshman class was welcomed to the campus. A culinary innovation lab for hospitality students has opened on Main Street in Lakewood Ranch.

Still, Guilford and other school officials have openly discussed their desire to continue a transition to a more traditional university: with student dorms, a student union and a recreation center and new academic buildings.

These goals have not been hidden from the community.

Manatee School Board member Karen Carpenter knows Guilford not just through the school district but as a member of the neighborhood association for the area that surrounds USF Sarasota-Manatee.

"He's been collegial and collaborative with the neighborhood," Carpenter said. "He is always the professional."

Development plans and timelines rely heavily on the school securing private funding for various projects. The administrator who will be tasked with bringing those plans to fruition remains to be seen.

Sophia Wisniewska, regional chancellor of USF St. Petersburg, will head a search committee that will conduct a national probe for a new school leader. Guilford said that a consulting firm will likely be used to guide the process.

A USF Tampa representative and USF Sarasota-Manatee faculty and staff will make up the rest of the committee.

Asked if he has advice for any administrator that might take his place, Guilford had a quick response.

"Get involved in the community," he said. "This community deserves and demands it."

EARLIER: Arthur Guilford, the charismatic regional chancellor of the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee who helped secure local control of the institution and give it a new identity, will step down from his position at the end of July.

In an email sent to faculty on Monday, Guilford said that though he is set to retire in January 2015, he is vacating his position earlier so a successor can begin before the fall term, and because hiring for education administrators typically occurs in the summer.

Guilford will help with special projects for the remainder of his tenure, school spokeswoman Ruth Lando said.

“He'll be on hand and available,” Lando said Tuesday.

Guilford has spent the past seven years of a 39-year career within the University of South Florida system at the local university, off U.S. 41 near the border of Sarasota and Manatee counties.

The school had long offered upper-division coursework and master's degrees for an older student population, made up largely of transfer, commuter and working students with an average age of 29.

But under Guilford's watch, the school became separately accredited from the main USF Tampa campus in 2011 and underwent considerable expansion, with new degree tracks, the school's first freshmen class and innovative community partnerships, such as a science initiative with Mote Marine Laboratory.

School officials have openly discussed their desire to continue a transition to a more traditional university: with student dorms, a student union and recreation center and new academic buildings.

“I am confident that USF Sarasota-Manatee will continue to grow and develop in all the ways that we have planned,” Guilford wrote to staff and faculty. “I look forward to seeing that growth and the excellence continue at USF Sarasota-Manatee.”

Details on the search for a new regional chancellor were not immediately available Tuesday.

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